It is well known in the industry to provide rubberized deflector curtains or skirts around the high speed, rotary cutters of agricultural mowers and harvesting machines to guard against the risk of thrown objects. Typically, such curtains are formed by a plurality of separate, individual hanging sections that are attached to respective rigid covers or shields that may be swung individually up into raised positions for access to the cutting mechanism therebeneath. When the shields are down in their normal covering positions, the curtain sections overlap one another to a slight extent along their lateral margins to avoid the formation of gaps through which thrown objects would pass.
However, as the machines move through standing crops, the individual curtain sections are engaged and pushed rearwardly by the crops such that there is a tendency for the sections to come open as they deflect and separate from one another. Thus, a common practice has been to provide various snaps, buckles and other fasteners that prevent the sections from separating from one another during actual field operations. When the farmer then wants to lift one or more of the rigid shields to gain access to the cutting mechanism for repair or replacement purposes, he must first release the appropriate fasteners.
Of course, for optimum safety, the farmer should then rebuckle or resecure the fasteners once the raised shield is lowered back down into operating position. However, as a practical matter, this extra step is sometimes ignored by the user such that the curtain sections become free to swing open relative to one another during actual field operation.